High School Sports

The Aptos High girls’ soccer team in 2023-24 had one of its most inspirational seasons in the program’s history. Mariners superstar Alexa Castañeda wanted to make her case throughout the campaign as one of the league’s top players.  Meanwhile her mom and head coach, Gina Castañeda,...

It’s somewhat true that most schools won’t compete with other teams in a lower division for fear of missing out on Central Coast Section points to earn a playoff berth.  The Pajaro Valley High boys’ soccer team didn’t seem to have that problem this offseason.  In...

Pajaro Valley High senior Izaak Ocampo knows the football program has been considered a doormat of the league for quite some time.  In fact, the Grizzlies have recorded just one winning season since the team began competing in 2006. That was long before he was...

Correction: A previous version of this story said the Watsonville boys' volleyball team last won a league championship in 2016, which is not true. Watsonville won a league championship in 2022. The historical run for the Watsonville boys’ volleyball team came to a crushing end...

St. Francis senior Nash Horton has been serving up double-doubles on the basketball court this 2024-25 winter campaign like he was part owner of an In-N-Out franchise. The standout guard recorded his 14th double-double this season with 17 points and 12 rebounds in the Sharks’...

Monte Vista Christian senior Dominic Pierini finished with 400 yards passing and four touchdowns for the Mustangs football team in a 49-28 non-league loss to Piedmont Hills High on Aug. 30.   The star quarterback also had two interceptions and two fumbles lost. “That was kind of...

After suffering a heartbreaking loss to Alisal last week, St. Francis was aiming to bounce back against Scotts Valley in what was a rare Thursday night “home” game at Cabrillo College. The only thing was they would have to do it with several key injuries...

This week’s edition of the Pajaronian Sports Ticker highlights local prep athletes for their performances during the week of April 24-30.  Coaches and athletic directors are encouraged to submit scores and stats to [email protected]. Follow sports editor Juan Reyes on Twitter @jmreyes831 for scores and...

Aptos High last week announced that Johnny Velez was named the new head coach for both the boys’ and girls’ wrestling teams. The 31-year-old Aptos High alum is replacing long time coach Rudy Guzman who retired at the end of the 2023-24 season. Guzman was an...

Watsonville senior Katelynn Ruiz finished second overall with a time of 20 minutes, 05 seconds to help the Wildcatz girls' cross country team win the Mission Division race in the first Pacific Coast Athletic League Center Meet of the season Sept. 19.   The Wildcatz finished...